Hawke's Bay men eclipsed Southland 3 and 2 in the morning but lost by the same margin to North Harbour in the afternoon in Whangarei yesterday.
No2 seed Mako Thompson, No4 Tyson Tawera and No5 Russell Mitchell registered wins against the Southerners on day two of the premier teams matchplay tourney in the country staged at the Mangawhai GC.
Against North Harbour, Thompson backed up with another win - 2 and 1 against Kit Bittle - and Russell, who had shuffled up to No4, joined him with a 1 up win against James Hydes.
NZ U19 champion Thompson beat Southland's Matt Tautari 4 and 3 while Mitchell had crushed Leith Campion 6 and 5 in the morning.
Winter made way for Karamu High School pupil Dylan Bagley who lost 4 and 3 to North Harbour's Jake Lee.